Bottle-stopper.



No. 699 198. Patented May 6, I902.

a. LISPENARD.

BOTTLE STOPPER.

(Application filed Oct. 30, 1899.)

Witrtesss'; Inventor, 1 Geagge Ligpenard 5 %V Affornegr.

UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

GEORGE LISPENARD, OF BR o r v, N W YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOCHARLESL. CURTIS, OE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Ne. 699,198, dated May 6,1902.

- Application filed October 30, 1899. Serial No- 735,191. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE LISPENARD, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of the borough. of Brooklyn, in the city of NewYork, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain newand. useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of

To this end the mouth of the bottle is adapted to my invent-ion byproviding it with an inwardly-projecting lip and by providing be-- lowthe lip a seat for the stopper'of'smallerdiameter than the lip, so thatthe stopper therefor may be smallenough to pass the lip. at the mouth.The stopper is of cork or other. compressible material and is providedwith- A locking-wire formed a top of sheet metal. into a ring is fittedbetween the inwardlyprojecting lip and the sheet-metal top. "This wire,forming nearly a complete ring, rests. I against substantially theentire-periphery ofv the stopper and exerts auniform pressure.

around theperiphery. This uniform pressure around the peripheryeffectually prevents the stopper from springing away from its seat atany point, andthereby imperfectly sealing the bottle, as is the casewith forms of stOpper-fastenings in which the cork is held at two orthree points only. Although the wire is formed into a ring, the ends arenot brought together and joined in the ring, and the ring canconsequently, be readily closed smaller for insertion into anddislodgment from its locking position.-

Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings, which formsa part ofthis specification, Figure l is aperspective view showing the mouth of ajar or bottle closed with ing-wire.

a stopper and locking-wire in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of one form of locking-wire. Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of another form of lock- Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the Fig. 5is a The bottle is closed by a disk 4, of cork or other suitablematerial, of such diameter that it will pass the lip at the mouth, butwill rest upon the shoulder. The disk of cork is strengthened by asheet-metal top 5 of the same size. The cork disk and sheet-metal topconstitute the stopper .to the bottle; but it is'not essential tosomefeatures of this invention that the stopper be of more than onesubstance,or that it beof any particular shape,

ticular way, except that when in place the top of the stopper at itsedge should be slightly below the underside of the inwardly-projecting1ip, so that the lip andthe top of the stopper form an interior annulargroove. A

or thatit be seated to the bottle in any parlocking-wire 6, formed intoa ring, fits partly I into the groove thus formed, the upper side oftheri'ng bearing against the under side of the lip and the under side ofthe ring bearing against the top of the stopper.

The wire though bent into substantially a complete circle is not joinedat the ends,so as to make an endless-ring, but the ends are left free,

and one end. 7 is bent away from the ring either outwardly, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, or inwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby it can be seizedand the ring thereby dislodged from its locking position. The wire isformed into a circle somewhat larger than the groove, so that it willtend to expand when applied to the bottle and firmly wedge'itself intothe groove. In practice-I have found that the under side of the lip maybe beveled fifty degrees or even more and that the'wire may projectunder the lip to the extent of only a third of its diameter. With thisrelation the wire can be easily lifted out of the groove by theprojecting end, and yet will not be dislodged by any pressure applieduniformly to the under side of the stopper, such as would arise from theexpansion of'the contents of the bottle.

In the form shown in Fig.1 the bottle-mouth is notched at 8 and theoutwardly-turned end of the wire is laid through the notch. The end ofthe wire needs to project through the notch only slightly, since byholding the bot tle in the hand and bearing down on the bottle, with theend of the wire resting on the edge of a table, the dislodgment of thewire is easily effected.

Inremoving the locking-wire to open the bottle, since the slot has afreevertical opening and the ring engages under a beveled lip, an upwardpressure on the projecting end of the wires causes the adjoining end ofthe ring to be cammed inwardly by the bevel of the lip. The ring is thenlifted spirally out of its seat and dislodged progressively around thelip of the bottle.

For convenience is assembling the parts the sheet metal disk has threetongues 9 formed on its periphery. The locking-wire may consequently belaid on the disk and the two put on the bottle at one handling.

It is obvious that a disk 5, provided with the tongues 9, may be usedinconnection with the form of wire ring shown in Fig. 3 without departurefrom my invention.

I have illustrated my invention in a form and size especially suited tofruit-jars; but it is equally applicable to bottles the mouths of whichare much smaller and which may or may not have a shoulder to support thecork.

Having described my invention and without limiting myself to the precisedetails set forth,what I claim as new,and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with a bottle provided with an inwardly-projectingbeveled lip at the mouth thereof, a shoulder within thelmouth and belowthe lip and a notch in the bottlemouth with a free vertical opening, ofa stopper seated on the shoulder, and a locking-wire ring fitted betweenthe lip and the top of the stopper, one end of the wire forming the ringbeing bent outwardly and laid through the notch, whereby the end of thewire can be lifted vertically through the notch and the ring adjoiningthe end cammed inwardly by the bevel of the lip when the end is lifted,substantially as described.

2. The combination with a bottle provided with an inwardly-projectingbeveled lip at the month thereof, a shoulder within the-mouth and belowthe lip and a notch in the bottlemouth with a free vertical opening, ofa stopper seated on the shoulder, and a locking-wire ring fitted betweenthe lip and the top of the stopper, one end of the wire forming the ringbeing bent outwardly and laid through the notch, whereby the end of thewire can be lifted vertically through the notch and the ring adjoiningthe end cammed inwardly by the bevel of the lip when the end is lifted,and the opposite end of the ring being separated from the body of thering by an interval whereby the diameter of the ring may be reduced topermit its ready disengagement from its locking position, substantiallyas described.

3. The combination with a bottle, provided with an inwardly-projectinglip at the mouth thereof, of a stopper, composed of a sealingdisk and asuperimposed metal cover-disk fitting the mouth of the bottle, the metalcover-disk having tongues projecting therefrom at intervals on itsperiphery, and a locking-wire ringfitted between the lip and thecover-plate of the stopper and held beneath the tongues of the latter,the ends of the wire not beingjoined into a ring, and a space being leftbetween one end of the wire and the oppositepart of the ring, wherebythe diam.- eter of the ring may be reduced to permit its readydislodgment from its locked position, substantially as described.

Signed by me in the borough of Manhattan, New York, this 27th day ofOctober, 1809.

GEORGE LISPENARD.

\Vitnesses:

FREDERICK RECHT, FRANK H. VILLIE.

